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July 6, 2024July 6, 2024

THEY BELIEVED … THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST / ACTS 8:12

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(KJV) Acts 8:12

But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

THEY BELIEVED … THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST / ACTS 8:12

The Samaritans had fully met the conditions for receiving spiritual salvation and were Christians before the Spirit came upon them.

They “believed” and were “baptized” (Acts 2:38). Two facts make it clear that the faith of the Samaritans was genuine saving faith (the kind that gave them a legitimate personal relationship with God).
Both Philip (Acts 8:12) and the apostles (Acts 8:14; 14:4) considered the Samaritans’ faith to be valid.
The Samaritans publicly acknowledged their commitment to Christ by water baptism. Scripture affirms that “whoever believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:1 6; Acts 2:38). The baptism did not save them, but it was a means of identifying with Jesus (Romans 6:4) and publicly testifying to their faith in Christ. As a result of that faith, they had been spiritually “born again” (John 3:3-6) and had the Holy spirit living within them (Romans 8:9).
Their receiving the Holy Spirit several days later (Acts 8:17) was not for salvation. It was rather a receiving of the Spirit as the disciples did at Pentecost, to equip them with power to serve Christ and spread His message (Acts 1:8; Acts 2:4). Luke uses the term “receive the Spirit” mainly in an empowering sense (Acts1:8; Acts 2:38; Acts 8:17; Acts 10:47; Acts 19:2), not in the sense of spiritual salvation.
Some have taught that the Samaritans’ faith was not a spiritually saving and renewing faith (the kind that brought them into a personal relationship with Christ). However, it is unreasonable to believe that Philip, a man full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom (Acts 6:3-5), would baptize, heal, and command demons to come out of people whose faith he thought was not genuine.

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July 6, 2024July 6, 2024

WHEN THEY HEARD THIS / ACTS 11:18

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(KJV) Acts 11:18

When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.

WHEN THEY HEARD THIS / ACTS 11:18

Peter’s speech silenced all objection (Acts 11:4-18). God had baptized the Gentiles (people of other nationalities who were not Jewish) in the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:45) with the convincing evidence of speaking in tongues (Acts 10:46). This was the only sign they needed to accept the Gentiles’ experience as authentic and real without a doubt.

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July 6, 2024July 6, 2024

THE HOLY SPIRIT CAME ON THEM / ACTS 19:6

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(KJV) Acts 19:6

And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.

THE HOLY SPIRIT CAME ON THEM / ACTS 19:6

This event occurs about 25 years after the first outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (when God generously sent His Spirit to fill and empower His followers, Acts 2:4). Yet, the pattern of these twelve people receiving the fullness of the Holy Spirit is consistent with the pattern seen throughout the book of Acts (Acts 8:5-24).

They had believed in Jesus and were born again by the Spirit (they had been spiritually renewed or “saved” and entered a personal relationship with Jesus).
After they were baptized in water (Acts 19:5), Paul laid his hands on them, and they were baptized in the Holy Spirit.
As the Holy Spirit came on them, they began speaking in tongues and prophesying (using their voice to honor God by inspiration of the Holy Spirit). The book of Acts never presents the outpouring of the Spirit without any outward evidence. Rather, it shows it to be an obvious and identifiable experience that could be verified by the initial physical evidence of speaking in tongues. This practice is a Holy Spirit-inspired way of speaking, praying, or praising God by which a Christian speaks in a language (Greek glossa) they have never learned (Acts 2:4; 1 Corinthians 14:14-15).

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July 6, 2024July 7, 2024

SPEAKING IN TONGUES / ACTS 10:46

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Acts 10:46
For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,

SPEAKING IN TONGUES / ACTS 10:46

Peter and those with him considered speaking in unlearned languages, as inspired by the Holy Spirit, to be the convincing sign of the baptism in the Spirit. Just as God confirmed His actions at Pentecost by the sign of tongues (Acts 2:4), He causes the Gentiles in Cornelius’ house to speak in tongues as a convincing sign to Peter and the other Jewish believers.

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July 5, 2024July 5, 2024

GOD DOES NOT SHOW FAVORITISM / ACTS 10:34

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Acts 10:34
Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:

GOD DOES NOT SHOW FAVORITISM / ACTS 10:34

God has no favorite nation or race, nor does He favor any individual because of nationality, birth, or position in life (James 2:1). God favors and accepts those from every nation and people group who turn from their own sinful ways, accept God’s forgiveness, yield their lives to Christ, and obediently follow His purposes for their (Acts 10:3 5; R omans 2:6-11). All who continue to live by this commitment will continue to experience God’s love and favor (J ohn 15:10).

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July 5, 2024July 5, 2024

THEY RECEIVED THE HOLY SPIRIT / ACTS 8:17

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(KJV) Acts 8:17
Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.

THEY RECEIVED THE HOLY SPIRIT / ACTS 8:17

Through the laying on of hands (Acts 6:6), the Samaritans received the Holy Spirit in the same sense as the baptism in the Spirit that occurred at Pentecost (Acts 1:8; Acts 2:4).

The Samaritans’ “two-stage” experience – first believing, and then being filled with the Spirit – shows that the “two-stage” experience of Christ’s followers at Pentecost was not abnormal. The experiences of both Paul in Acts 9:5-17 and the Ephesian disciples in Acts 19:1-6 were the same as the Samaritans. They accepted Christ as Savior and Lord (the Forgiver of their sins and Leader of their lives) and afterwards were filled with (baptized in) the Spirit. There is no set time between saving faith and baptism in the Spirit; it does not need to be long, as was shown with the Christians at Caesarea (Acts 1 0).

Baptism in the Holy Spirit does not save us. The necessary steps for salvation are repenting (admitting and turning from our own sinful way and toward God in faith) and yielding one’s life to Christ. But just as baptism in water is an outward testimony of what has taken place inwardly through salvation (Romans 6:4), so baptism in the Spirit provides outward evidence of the Spirit’s powerful presence flowing through a believer’s life. God’s Spirit already lives within and directs Christians’ lives from the point of salvation (Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 6:19). Yet, baptism in the Spirit is vital for experiencing God’s full power and purpose for their lives. In a sense, salvation puts the Holy Spirit into people, and being “filled with the Spirit” helps bring the Spirit out through them in powerful ways (Acts 2:37-39; 4:31).

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July 5, 2024July 6, 2024

HAD NOT YET COME UPON ANY OF THEM / ACTS 8:15-16

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(KJV) Acts 8:15-16
Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
¹⁶(For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)

HAD NOT YET COME UPON ANY OF THEM / ACTS 8:15-16

They had not yet experienced the power of the Holy Spirit in the same way Christ’s followers did on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:4). The Spirit had not yet “come upon” them, and they had not yet received the gift of the Spirit as God the Father had promised (Acts 1:4) and as Christ had foretold when He said, “You will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5). Evidently, they had not shown the expected spiritual signs or expressions that typically went along with the baptism in the Spirit (Acts 8:5-24).

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July 4, 2024August 2, 2024

JULY 4th PRAYER

WISING YOU A WARM AND HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

Make this 4th of July memorable by counting your blessings and truly appreciating our FREEDOM.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

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July 3, 2024July 3, 2024

THEY WERE ALL FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT / ACTS 4:31

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(KJV) Acts 4:31

And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

THEY WERE ALL FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT / ACTS 4:31

Several important truths stand out here.

The phrase “baptized with [or in] the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5) describes how the Holy Spirit sets Christ’s followers apart and infuses them with God’s power to boldly and effectively spread the message of Jesus Christ. The terms “filled,” “clothed” and “empowered” describe the Spirit equipping believers for ministry and service (Acts 2:4; Acts 4:8, 31; 9:17; 13:19, 52). The “filling” may be repeated or refreshed.
These two concepts of “baptized” and “filled” also fit together to form a picture of this experience in a Christian’s life. The word “baptize” actually means to immerse, or to dip into; but since the Spirit works within a person, baptism in the Spirit becomes an overflow of the Spirit. For example, a person who receives spiritual salvation is like a container that was once empty being filled with fresh water. He or she is no longer empty but has the Holy Spirit living inside (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19). Then, the baptism in the Holy Spirit is like pouring more clean water into the container until it overflows from within (John 7:38-39). A person who is baptized in the Spirit becomes saturated and immersed (“baptized”) with God’s presence to the point where it spills out of his or her life and is so evident that it impacts others.
The terms “pouring out the Spirit” (Acts 2:17-18; 10:45), “receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38; 8:15) and “coming of the Spirit on” (Acts 8:16; 10:44; 11:15; 19:6) are different expressions for the occasion when Christians are ‘filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:4; Acts 4:31; 9:17).
All the believers, including those who had been previously filled (Acts 2:4), are freshly filled to meet the continuing opposition of the Jews (Acts 4:29). Though a person receives the baptism in the Holy Spirit only once, fresh fillings with the Holy Spirit are part of God’s purpose and provision for all who have received the baptism in the Spirit (Acts 4:8; 13:52). We should desire and expect those fillings.
The Spirit here visits and impacts a whole congregation. To fulfill God’s will and mission for the church, not only must individuals be filled with the Spirit (Acts 5:8; 9:17; 13:9), but entire congregations (Acts 2:4; Acts 4:31; 13:53) should experience repeated displays of power from the Holy Spirit when special needs and challenges arise.

When God graciously provided the entire congregation with a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit, the church experienced great boldness and power to speak for Christ, great desire to love and serve one another and great favor from God on all the people.

SPOKE THE WORD OF GOD BOLDLY / ACTS 4:31

The inner power of the Holy Spirit and the reality of God’s presence freed the believers from fear and inspired them with great courage to speak out for Him. Two of the overall purposes of the baptism in the Holy Spirit are to provide a deeper experience of personal worship toward God and empower their public witness to other people (Acts 1:8; Romans 8:26-27; 1 Corinthians 14:2-4).

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July 3, 2024July 3, 2024

FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT / ACTS 2:4

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(KJV) Acts 2:4

And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT / ACTS 2:4

What is the significance, or meaning, of the first “outpouring” of the Holy Spirit (when God generously sent His Spirit to fill, empower and work through His followers) at Pentecost?

It meant the beginning of the fulfillment of God’s promise is Joel 2:28-29 to pour out His Spirit on all His people in the end times (Acts 1:4-5; Matthew 3:11 ; Luke 24:49; John 1:3 3).
Since that period in church history marked the beginning of the last days (Acts 2:1 7; Hebrews 1:2; 1 Peter 1:2 0), everyone was now confronted with the decision to turn from their own sinful, rebellious ways and surrender their lives to Christ by faith (Acts 2:17; 3:19; Matthew 3:2; Luke 13:3).
The disciples were “clothed with power form on high” (Luke 24:4 9; Acts 1:8), making them able to communicate with boldness and authority the message and truth of Christ. They became people the Spirit could use to convince others of their lost spiritual condition, their accountability to God and their need for a right relationship with Him that is only possible through faith in Christ (Acts 1:8; 4:13, 33; 6:8; Romans 15:1 9; John 16:8).
The Holy Spirit revealed His nature and character as one who deeply desires and strives for the spiritual salvation of people of every nation. Those who received the baptism in the Holy Spirit were filled with the same strong desire for the salvation of the human race (Acts 2:38-40; 4:12 , 33; Romans 9:1-3; 10:1). In this way, Pentecost is the beginning of world missions (Acts 2:6-11, 39; 1:8) – the effort to take Christ’s message to people of every nation and culture.
The disciples became ministers of the Spirit. They preached about how Jesus was crucified and raised from the dead to provide forgiveness and new life to all who accept Him by faith. They also influenced those who accepted Christ to receive the “gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2: 38-3 9), whom they had received at Pentecost. Leading others into the baptism in the Holy Spirit was vital to the work of spreading Christ’s message and developing strong churches throughout the New Testament, and it still is today (Acts 8:17; 9:17-18; 10:44-46; 19:6).

Through this baptism in the Spirit, Christians became heirs, or successors, to His earthly ministry. They continued to do and to teach, in the power of the Holy Spirit, the same things that Jesus “began to do and to teach” (Acts 1:1; John 14:12).

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